The Life and Wives of Carl Jarl

The statue above is not Carl Jarl, but rather of Karl-Oskar Nilsson and his wife, Kristina Johansdotter, the main characters in Vilhelm Moberg's novel The Emigrants.

If you are looking for a historically accurate portrayal of the context of Swedish farmers from Småland to midwest regions like Minnesota and Wisconsin, this novel (or the 1971 movie made from it starring Max von Sydow) will transport you to a midwest famine in winter faster than you can say Ingen ko på isen. (Equivalent to no worries, it literally means "no cow on the ice"!)

Much like the fictitious Karl-Oskar of the book, our Carl Jarl came to Minnesota from Småland leaving a harsh land that was no longer arable. His father raised the family in a soldattorp, a soldier's cottage, likely built of logs with a turf roof and painted the traditional red.

Carl was married three times, a testament to the challenges of being a woman in the 19th century both in Sweden and the US. Carl married twice in Sweden and again in Minnesota, and the resulting descendants are spread from Minnesota and Wisconsin to California and Florida today, and example of how a single gateway immigrant can lead to positive contributions by hundreds of people just a few generations later.

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If you're related to Carl Jarl, or just interested in his life and times, and you'd like to purchase a copy of our 25-page booklet on his life, please send an email for printing and mailing costs.